This I Believe

I believe my mom was the best mom ever. She has been gone for five years now, and I still miss her. She was my mom, hero, and best friend.

My dad died when I was eight years old, and my mom was left with four kids to raise by herself. Just nine years prior to his death, my mom and dad had relocated from Wisconsin to Kentucky with Thomas Industries, so we didn’t have a lot of family around us. She taught us that the family we had we had to cherish, and that we always had to stand together.

She could have moved us back to Wisconsin where she would have had more family to support her, but she decided to stay in Kentucky. She wanted to make it easier for my older brother and sister who were starting middle school and high school. She knew loosing their father was rough enough, and to start a new life elsewhere would make the situation even more difficult for them. Every decision she made was made with us in mind.

There was a time during my teenage years that I thought she was so foolish, and it was in my twenties, I discovered she was much clever than I gave her credit. It was during those years, I became a mother myself. It didn’t take me long to understand the reasons for her beliefs. She became not only my mom, but my best friend. I could always count on her love and support. She would always be truthful and tell me if I was right or wrong.

She had to deal with a lot of illness in her lifetime, and it was two years before her death that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was our first encounter with cancer. I know there were times that she was scared. I was scared for her and me! My Mom has always been there for me. I couldn’t imagine her not being in my life.

When she had her mastectomy, it was a difficult recovery time. It was about six months later, that she was found cancer free. We were ecstatic! I believe we became even closer. When you are that close to losing someone, you realize very quickly how special that person is to you. We cherished everything we did together.

It was about a year later that the cancer returned, and it was a fatal diagnosis. My brothers, sisters, and I came together to take care of her during her last days. It was tough, but we wanted to show her how much she meant to us. We did it together just like she taught us.

I believe you have to be determined to raise your family with your beliefs and morals just as she had. There will be trials along the way, but if you stand together you can make it through.